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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to reveal the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become overall. On the one hand, he desires his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture on his own, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to MPs and listening to the public. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal experience of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.